Eli looked ready to argue, but I cut him off. “Rumor or not, she is capable of doing it, so we can put Bethany Grey down on the list, right?”
“Right,” Eli said.
Selene folded her arms, pouting. “Right. At least she’s a better option than Dusty’s mom.”
Eli nodded, although I couldn’t tell if it was in agreement or if he was just pacifying her. “Now we need a plan for getting in and out without getting caught.”
“And fast,” I said. “We’ve got to get those keys back to Culpepper.”
“No problem,” said Selene. She removed the plastic barrette from the end of her braid and placed it on the desk in front of her. She concentrated on it, muttering an incantation. A moment later the glamour charm had transformed the barrette into a nearly perfect reproduction of the moonwort key. She picked it up and slid it onto the key ring. “There, that should buy us some time. I’ll just drop this in the lost and found.”
“Smart,” said Eli. “That’s one problem down.”
Unfortunately, the next problem wasn’t so easy. Even though Mr. Ankil’s death had been reported as an accident, security on campus had still been heightened afterward. The dorm room curfew was set at nine as usual, but nobody was supposed to be outdoors or in the tunnels after sunset without permission.
Since the Suits of Armor were the primary enforcers of the curfew, and they didn’t do actual floor checks, we decided the best solution was to simply find somewhere to hide in Coleville and wait for it to get late enough to break in. After my week of tailing Culpepper, I knew he kept pretty regular daytime hours. It was possible that the werewolf policemen might patrol the cemetery at night, but that was a risk we would have to take.
Yeah, this would’ve been a great plan if it were June or maybe even September. November, however, meant cold and more cold. The four of us took up positions in various hiding spots around the entrance to the crypt. Fortunately, the trees and bushes were still in full bloom, thanks to the magic of the fairy gardeners, which gave us extra coverage. Unfortunately, the foliage didn’t improve the temperature any. By the time the sun went down, my fingers had turned to icicles.
We’d agreed to hold out until midnight in the hope that Culpepper would’ve turned in for the evening. But by a quarter to eleven I made an executive decision and stood up from my hiding place behind a gravestone.
“What are you doing?” Eli hissed at me from across the way. I could barely make him out, dressed all in black as he was.
“I’m done waiting.” I walked up to the crypt, pulling the moonwort key out of my pocket. Selene, Eli, and Paul joined me a second later, and I slid the key into the hole. The key vibrated for a moment, like some machine kicking on. Then I heard a soft click, and the door swung open of its own accord. A wave of hot air swept out from the doorway, stunning me with welcoming warmth. I stepped in automatically, thinking about nothing other than defrosting my appendages.
“Hold up, Dusty,” Eli said. “You don’t know what’s in there.”
Too late. I was already four steps inside the crypt, which was dark and gloomy despite the warmth, when suddenly the floor disappeared beneath my feet.
I choked on a scream as I went tumbling down a narrow flight of stone steps. Ten bumps later, I came sliding to a stop in an underground chamber. I sat up and groaned, assessing the damage. Aside from some scrapes and inevitable bruises, nothing felt broken. Lucky again, I supposed.
“Are you okay?” asked Eli, racing down the steps toward me. He was the only one of us who owned a flashlight, which he now held pointed in my eyes.
“Fine, but you’re blinding me.”
“Sorry.”
Paul appeared, bumping Eli out of the way to get to me. Eli glowered at him as Paul grabbed my arms, lifting me to my feet. “You might want to be more careful next time.”
“You think?”
“Here’re the torches,” Selene said, rummaging in her backpack. She lit one with a simple fire spell and handed it to Paul. She did the same for me and finally one for herself.
“You sure you’re okay?” asked Eli. He touched my arm, a concerned look on his face.
I nodded, distracted by the sight of the crypt. We were in some kind of huge storeroom. Dozens of freestanding shelves filled the place, packed with all kinds of stuff. The one nearest to me held crate-sized boxes of candy—Twizzlers, Pixy Stix, Sprees, not to mention all the candy bars Hardwick had gone so bananas for.
“I think it’s safe to say he’s got some kind of side business going on,” said Paul.
“Either that or he’s preparing for nuclear fallout,” said Eli.
“Or,” I said, walking over to another shelf that had caught my eye, “he’s thinking of starting World War Three.” This shelf held crates with ominous labels like “C4” and “TNT.” Beside them were countless rifles and handguns hung from racks set next to other crates full of various types of bullets.
“Yikes,” said Eli, coming over to me. “Didn’t you say this guy was an ex-Marine? ’Cause I’m not seeing the ex part so much. He could kill everybody with all this stuff.”
“Um, guys?” said Selene, a hint of panic in her voice. “I think we’ve got even more to worry about.”
I turned to face her, but she’d disappeared down another aisle. When I found her, I understood her worry at once. This aisle was full of black magic items.